Many big cities, like Chicago and Dallas, are currently
being confronted with the issue of a large amount of pension debt. Houston is
also a big city facing a large amount of pension debt. However, I am here to commend
the city for doing something to solve the pension problem.
I am proud of Houston that it has taken on the challenge and
now has a plan to pay off the pension debt.
Mayor Sylvester Turner has put forward a plan to resolve
Houston’s pension debt problem.
Dallas has not been able to put forward a pension debt
problem as there is so much disagreement in Dallas about how to handle it.
Houston has approved a pension plan with a 16-1 City Council
vote.
The plan would not take any money away from those currently living
on Social Security who formerly worked for the city. However, for those who are
currently working for the city, there is a cap, at which point their pension
payoffs stop. The current pension debt the city has will slowly be paid off
over the next 30 years.
I understand that this is not a perfect plan but it is an attempt to solve the problem and I am proud that Houston is willing to tackle a big problem.
